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BABEL
Babel ''is a 2006 American-Mexican-French '''drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The storyline by'Eric Roth'and'Robin Swicord'is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by'F. Scott Fitzgerald'. The film stars Brad Pitt as a man who ages in reverse and Cate Blanchett as the love interest throughout his life. written by Guillermo Arriaga, starring an ensemble cast. The multi-narrative drama completes González Iñárritu's Death Trilogy, following Amores perros and 21 Grams.4 The film portrays multiple stories taking place in Morocco, Japan, and Mexico/U.S.A. It was an international co-production among companies based in France, Mexico, and the U.S. The film was first screened at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, and was later shown at the Toronto International Film Festival.5 It opened in selected cities in the United States on 27 October 2006, and went into wide release on 10 November 2006. On 15 January 2007, it won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture — Drama. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and two nominations for Best Supporting Actressand won for Best Original Score. The film was released in North America on December 25, 2008, and on February 6, 2009 in the United Kingdom, to positive reviews. The film went on to receive thirteen'Academy Award'nominations, including'Best Picture',Best Director'for Fincher,'Best Actor'for Pitt and'Best Supporting Actress'for Taraji P. Henson, and won three, for'Best Art Direction,Best Makeup'and'Best Visual Effects. * Directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu * Produced by: Steve Golin, Jon Kilik, Alejandro González Iñárritu * Written by: '''Guillermo Arriaga, Alejandro González Iñárritu * '''Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael García Bernal, Koji Yakusho, Adriana Barraza * Music by: '''Gustavo Santaolalla * '''Cinematography: '''Rodrigo Prieto * '''Edited by: '''Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione * '''Country: United States, Mexico, France * Language: 'English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Japanese * '''Running time: '''143 minutes * '''Budget: '$25 million * 'Box Office: '$135 million * '''Release date: '''May 23, 2006 * '''Distributed by: Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage Plot Babel focuses on four interrelated sets of situations and characters, and many events are revealed out of sequence. The following plot summary has been simplified and thus does not reflect the exact sequence of the events on screen. Interestingly, the three settings for the plot are located on approximately the same latitude with each approximately 120° apart in longitude. §Moroccoedit In a remote desert location in Morocco, Abdullah, a goatherder, buys a high-powered .270 Winchester M70 rifle and a box of ammunition from his neighbor Hassan Ibrahim to shoot the jackals that have been preying on his goats. Abdullah gives the rifle to his two young sons, Yussef and Ahmed, and sends them out to tend the herd. The film has already established that there is a degree of competitiveness between the two brothers. The older is critical of the younger for spying on his sister while she changes her clothes (the film shows that she is aware of his peeping). Competing between themselves and doubtful of the rifle's purported three-kilometer range, they decide to test it out, aiming first at rocks, a moving car on a highway below, and then at a bus carrying Western tourists on the same highway traveling in the opposite direction to the car. Yussef's bullet hits the bus, critically wounding Susan Jones, an American woman from San Diego 67 who is traveling with her husband Richard on vacation. The two boys realize what has happened and flee the scene, hiding the rifle in the hills that night. Glimpses of television news programs reveal that the US government holds the shooting to be a terrorist act and is pressuring the Moroccan government to apprehend the culprits. Having traced the rifle back to Hassan, the Moroccan police descend quickly on his house and roughly question him and his wife until they reveal that the rifle was given to him by a Japanese man, and then sold to Abdullah. The two boys see the police on the road and confess to their father what they have done. (They believe at the time that the American woman has died of her wounds.) The three flee from their house, retrieving the rifle as they go. The police corner them on the rocky slope of a hill and open fire. After his brother is hit in the leg, Yussef returns fire, striking one police officer in the shoulder. The police continue shooting, eventually hitting Ahmed in the back, possibly fatally injuring him. As his father rages with grief, Yussef eventually surrenders and confesses to all the crimes, begging clemency for his family and medical assistance for his brother. The police take him into custody. The family's fate is unresolved. The movie's first plot is interspersed with scenes of Richard and Susan. They came on vacation in Morocco to get away from things and mend their own marital woes. The death of Sam, their infant third child, to SIDS has strained their marriage significantly as they struggle to communicate their frustration, guilt, and blame. When Susan is shot on the tour bus, Richard orders the bus driver to the nearest village with a doctor (the village is named Tazarine in the film). There a local veterinarian sews up the wound to stem the loss of blood. The other tourists wait for some time, but they eventually demand to leave, fearing the heat and worried that they may be the target of further attacks. Since Susan cannot travel by bus in her condition, Richard threatens the tour group to wait for the ambulance, which never arrives, and eventually the bus leaves without them while Richard is on the phone. The couple remains behind with the bus's tour guide, Anwar, still waiting for transport to a hospital (having contacted the US embassy using the village's only phone). Political issues between the US and Morocco prevent quick help, but a helicopter comes at last. After five days in the hospital, Susan recovers and is sent home. §Japanedit Simultaneously, the film tells the story of Chieko Wataya (綿谷 千恵子 Wataya Chieko, Rinko Kikuchi), a rebellious, deaf Japanese teenage girl, traumatized by the recent suicide of her mother. She is bitter towards her father, Yasujiro Wataya (綿谷 ヤスジロウ Wataya Yasujirō, Kōji Yakusho) and boys her age, and is sexually frustrated. She starts exhibiting sexually provocative behavior, partly in response to dismissive comments from a member of her volleyball team. While out with friends, Chieko finds a teenage boy attractive, and following an unsuccessful attempt at socialising, takes off her panties and exposes herself in an act combining flirtation and contempt. Chieko eventually encounters two police detectives who question her about her father. She finds one of the detectives, Kenji Mamiya (真宮 賢治 Mamiya Kenji, Satoshi Nikaido), attractive. She invites Mamiya back to the high-rise apartment she shares with her father. Wrongly supposing that the detectives are investigating her father's involvement in her mother's suicide, she explains to Mamiya that her father was asleep when her mother jumped off the balcony and that she witnessed this herself. It turns out the detectives are, in fact, investigating a hunting trip Yasujiro took in Morocco. Yasujiro is an avid hunter and during a trip in Morocco he gave his rifle, as a gift, to his very skilled hunting guide, Hassan, who at the beginning of the film sold the rifle to Abdullah. Soon after learning this, Chieko reveals her real motive in inviting Mamiya to her home. She approaches him nude and attempts to seduce him. He resists her approaches but comforts her as she bursts into tears. Before he leaves, Chieko writes him a note, indicating that she does not want him to read it until he is gone. Leaving, the detective crosses paths with Yasujiro and explains the situation with the rifle. Yasujiro replies that he did indeed give it as a gift; there was no black market involvement. About to depart, Mamiya offers condolences for the wife's suicide. Yasujiro, though, is confused by the mention of a balcony and angrily replies that "My wife shot herself in the head. Chieko was the first to find the body. I've explained this to the police many times." Chieko is leaning on the balcony (still nude) when her father enters the apartment, and the two embrace. After leaving, the detective stops at a bar to read Chieko's note. The note's contents are not revealed. §United States/Mexicoedit A third subplot takes place in the United States and Mexico where Richard and Susan's Mexican nanny, Amelia (Adriana Barraza), tends to Debbie (Elle Fanning) and Mike (Nathan Gamble), their twin children, in their San Diego, California home while they are in Morocco. When Richard and Susan are detained because of Susan's injury, Amelia is forced to take care of the children longer than planned and becomes worried that she will miss her son's wedding. Unable to secure any other help to care for them, she calls Richard for advice, who impatiently tells her to cancel the wedding. Without his permission Amelia decides to take the children with her to the wedding in a rural community nearTijuana, Mexico, rather than miss it. Her nephew Santiago (Gael García Bernal) offers to take her and the twins to the wedding. They cross the border uneventfully and the children are soon confronted by the Mexican culture and street scene. The revelry of the wedding extends well into the evening, but rather than staying the night in Mexico with the children, Amelia decides to drive back to the States with Santiago. He has been drinking heavily and the border guards become suspicious of his behavior and the American children in the car. Amelia has passports for all four travelers, but no letter of consent from the children's parents allowing her to take them out of the United States. Intoxicated, Santiago trespasses the border. He soon abandons Amelia and the children in the desert, attempting to lead off the police (his final fate is not revealed). Stranded without food and water, Amelia and the children are forced to spend the night in the desert. Realizing that they will all die if she cannot get help, Amelia leaves the children behind to find someone, ordering them not to move. She eventually finds a U.S. Border Patrol officer. After he places Amelia under arrest, she and the officer travel back to where she had left the children, but they are not there. Amelia is taken back to a Border Patrol station, where she is eventually informed that the children have been found and that Richard, while very furious and outraged, has agreed not to press charges. However, she will be deported from the US where she has been working illegally. Her protests that she had been in the US for 16 years and has looked after the children (whom she refers to as "her children") for the duration of their lives do not secure lenient treatment. Near the end of the movie, the audience sees her meeting her son on the Mexican side of the Tijuana crossing, still in the red dress she wore for the wedding, now torn and dirty from her night in the desert. At the end of the film, a phone conversation between Amelia and Richard is repeated from Richard's end of the phone. This is the original phone call at the beginning of Amelia's story. In this conversation it can be heard that he is allowing Amelia to go to her son's wedding because Susan's sister will be able to watch the twins. It is not until the next morning on another phone call they learn that Susan's sister cannot take care of them and thus Amelia is forced to take the children with her. Cast '- Brad Pitt '- Richard Jones '- Cate Blanchett '- Susan Jones '- Taraji P. Henson '- Queenie '- Julia Ormond '- Caroline Fuller '- Tilda Swinton '- Elizabeth Abbott '- Jared Harris'- Captain Mike Clark -'Jason Flemyng'- Thomas Button '- Mahershalalhashbaz Ali'- Tizzy Weathers '- Edith Ivey'- The woman who taught him to play piano" '- Rampai Mohadi'- Ngunda Oti Music The score to''The Curious Case of Benjamin Button''was written by French composer'Alexandre Desplat', who recorded his score with an 87-piece ensemble of the'Hollywood Studio Symphony'at the Sony Scoring Stage Track listing: Production In May 2000,Paramount Pictures'hired screenwriter'Jim Taylor'to adapt a screenplay from the short story. The studio also attached director'Spike Jonze'to helm the project. Screenwriter'Charlie Kaufman'had also written a draft of the adapted screenplay at one point. In June 2003, director'Gary Ross'entered final negotiations to helm the project based on a new draft penned by screenwriter'Eric Roth. In May 2004, director'David Fincher'entered negotiations to replace Ross in directing the film. In May 2005, actors'Brad Pitt'and'Cate Blanchett'entered negotiations to star in the film. In September 2006, actors'Tilda Swinton',Jason Flemyng'and'Taraji P. Henson'entered negotiations to be cast into the film. The following October, with production yet to begin, actress'Julia Ormond'was cast as Daisy's daughter, to whom Blanchett's character tells the story of her love for Benjamin Button. For''Benjamin Button,'''New Orleans,Louisiana'and the surrounding area was chosen as the filming location for the story to take advantage of the state's production incentives, and shooting was slated to begin in October 2006. Filming of''Benjamin Button''began on November 6, 2006 in New Orleans. In January 2007, Blanchett joined the shoot. Fincher praised the ease of accessibility to rural and urban sets in New Orleans and said that the recovery from'Hurricane Katrina'did not serve as an atypical hindrance to production. In March 2007, production moved to'Los Angeles'for two more months of filming. Principal photography was targeted to last a total of 150 days. Additional time was needed at visual effects house'Digital Domain'to make the visual effects for the metamorphosis of Brad Pitt's character to the infant stage. The director used a camera system called'Contour, developed by'Steve Perlman', to capture facial deformation data from live-action performances. Several digital environments for the film were created by Matte World Digital, including multiple shots of the interior of the New Orleans train station, to show architectural alterations and deterioration throughout different eras. The train station was built as a 3D model and lighting and aging effects were added, using Next Limit's Maxwell rendering software—an architectural visualization tool. Overall production was finished in September 2007 Release The Curious Case of Benjamin Button''was slated for theatrical release in December 25 in the United States, January 16, 2009 in Mexico, February 6 in the United Kingdom, February 13 in Italy and February 27 in South Africa. On its opening day, the film opened in the number two position behind'''Marley & Me, in North America with $11,871,831 in 2,988 theaters with a $3,973 average. However, during its opening weekend, the film dropped to the third position behind''Marley & Me''and''Bedtime Storieswith $26,853,816 in 2,988 theaters with an $8,987 average. The film has come to gross $127.5 million domestically and $206.4 million in foreign markets, with a total gross of $333.9 million. Reception The film has received positive reviews, with Pitt's performance receiving praise. The review aggregator'Rotten Tomatoes'reports that 72% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 235 reviews. According to'Metacritic', the film received an average score of 70 out of 100, based on 37 reviews.'Yahoo! Movies'reported the film received a B+ average score from critical consensus, based on 12 reviews. Todd McCarthy ofVarietymagazine gave the film a positive review, calling it a "richly satisfying serving of deep-dish Hollywood storytelling." Peter Howell ofThe Toronto Starsays: "It's been said that the unexamined life is not worth living.''The Curious Case of Benjamin Button''suggests an addendum: a life lived backwards can be far more enriching" and describes the film as "a magical and moving account of a man living his life resoundingly in reverse" and "moviemaking at its best." Rod Yates ofEmpireawarded it five out of a possible five stars. Kirk Honeycutt ofThe Hollywood Reporte'''r''felt the film was "superbly made and winningly acted by Brad Pitt in his most impressive outing to date." Honeycutt praised Fincher's directing of the film and noted that the "cinematography wonderfully marries a palette of subdued earthern colors with the necessary CGI and other visual effects that place one in a magical past." Honeycutt states the bottom line about''Benjamin Button''is that it is "an intimate epic about love and loss that is pure cinema." A. O. Scott ofThe New York Timesstates: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, more than two and a half hours long, sighs with longing and simmers with intrigue while investigating the philosophical conundrums and emotional paradoxes of its protagonist’s condition in a spirit that owes more to'Jorge Luis Borges'than to'''Fitzgerald." Scott praised director David Fincher and writes "Building on the advances of pioneers like'Steven Spielberg',Peter Jackson'and'Robert Zemeckis, Mr. Fincher has added a dimension of delicacy and grace to digital filmmaking" and further states: "While it stands on the shoulders of breakthroughs like''Minority Report'',The Lord of the Rings''and''Forrest Gump,Benjamin Button''may be the most dazzling such hybrid yet, precisely because it is the subtlest." He also stated: "At the same time, like any other love--like any movie--it is shadowed by disappointment and fated to end." On the other hand, Anne Hornaday ofThe Washington Poststates: "There's no denying the sheer ambition and technical prowess of''The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. What's less clear is whether it entirely earns its own inflated sense of self-importance" and further says, "It plays too safe when it should be letting its freak flag fly." Kimberley Jones of the''Austin Chroniclepanned the film and states, "Fincher's selling us cheekboned movie stars frolicking in bedsheets and calling it a great love. I didn't buy it for a second." '''Roger Ebert'of the''Chicago Sun-Timesgave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying that it is "a splendidly made film based on a profoundly mistaken premise." He goes on to elaborate that "the movie's premise devalues any relationship, makes futile any friendship or romance, and spits, not into the face of destiny, but backward into the maw of time." Peter Bradshaw inThe Guardiancalled it "166 minutes of twee tedium", giving it one star out of a possible five. Cosmo Landesman of theSunday Timeswrote: "The film's premise serves no purpose. It's a gimmick that goes on for nearly three hours," concluding "''The Curious Case of Benjamin Button''is an anodyne Hollywood film that offers a safe and sanitised view of life and death. It's''Forrest Gump''goes backwards," while awarding the film two out of five stars. James Christopher inThe Timescalled it "a tedious marathon of smoke and mirrors. In terms of the basic requirements of three-reel drama the film lacks substance, credibility, a decent script and characters you might actually care for" while Derek Malcolm of London'sEvening Standardnotes that "never at any point do you feel that there's anything more to it than a very strange story traversed by a film-maker who knows what he is doing but not always why he is doing it. Awards Wins: * Academy Awards:''Best Art Direction(Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo),Best Makeup(Greg Cannom),Best Visual Effects(Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron) * BAFTA'S:Best Makeup & Hair,Best Production Design,Best Visual Effects * Austin Film Critics Association Awards:Best Supporting Actress(Taraji P. Henson) * Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards:Best Score(Alexandre Desplat) * Houston Film Critics Society Awards:Best Picure, Best Cinematography(Claudio Miranda) * Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards:Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography(Claudio Miranda),Best Costume Design(Jacqueline West) * London Film Critics' Circle:Director of the Year(David Fincher), Best Supporting Actress of the Year(Tilda Swinton) * National Board of Review:Best Director(David Fincher),Best Adapted Screenplay(Eric Roth) * Saturn Awards:Best Fantasy Film, Best Supporting Actress(Tilda Swinton) * St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards:Best Film * Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards:Best Director(David Fincher) * Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association:Best Art Direction Nominations: * Academy Awards:Best Picture (''Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Ceán Chaffin), Best Director''(David Fincher), Best Actor(Brad Pitt), Best Supporting Actress(Taraji P. Henson), Best Adapted Screenplay (''Eric Roth), Best Film Editing (Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall), Best Costume Design (Jacqueline West), Best Cinematography (Claudio Miranda), Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat), Best Sound Mixing (David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten)'' * Golden Globe Awards:Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama (Brad Pitt), Best Director (David Fincher), Best Screenplay (Eric Roth), Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat) * BAFTA'S:Best Film (''Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Ceán Chaffin),''Best Director(David Fincher),Best Adapted Screenplay(Eric Roth), Best Actor(Brad Pitt), Best Costume Design, Best Music(Alexandre Desplat), Best Cinematography (''Claudio Miranda), Best Editing'' * Screen Actors Guild Awards:Best Leading Actor(Brad Pitt),Best Supporting Actress(Taraji P. Henson), Best Cast * Broadcast Film Critics:Best Film,Best Actor(Brad Pitt), Best Actress(Cate Blanchett), Best Director(David Fincher), Best Supporting Actress(Taraji P. Henson), Best Cast, Best Screenplay(Eric Roth), Best Composer(Alexandre Desplat'')'' * American Society of Cinematographers: Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases (Claudio Miranda) * Writers Guild of America Awards: Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (Eric Roth, Robin Swicord) * Chicago Film Critics Association:Best Picture,Best Director(David Fincher), Best Adapted Screenplay(Eric Roth), Best Cinematography(Claudio Miranda), Best Orinal Score(Alexandre Desplat) * Directors Guild of America Awards: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (David Fincher) * Houston Film Critics Society Awards:Best Director(David Fincher), Best Actor(Brad Pitt), Best Actress(Cate Blanchett), Best Supporting Actress (''Taraji P. Henson), Best Screenplay''(Eric Roth), Best Score(Alexandre Desplat) * London Film Critics' Circle: Best Film, Screenwriter''of the Year''(Eric Roth) * MTV Movie Awards:Best Female Performance (''Taraji P. Henson)'' * Satellite Awards:Best Adapted Screenplay (''Eric Roth, Robin Swicord), Best Art Direction and Production Design (Donald Graham Burt, Tom Reta), Best Cinematography''(Claudio Miranda), Best Costume Design (''Jacqueline West)'' * Saturn Awards:Best Actor(Brad Pitt), Best Actress(Cate Blanchett), Best Director(David Fincher), Best Writing(Eric Roth), Best Music(Alexandre Desplat), Best Visual Effects * Scream Awards:Best Fantasy Actor(Brad Pitt).